Persona Reversed
by Insomniac Jaki
Summary: This is the continuation of Persona Reversed by TheDeathBringerofHell. ZADR! Dib and Zim's bodies get switched. Sucky summary, I know.
1. The Beginning

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Credit for this chapter goes to her, because this is her work. I just fixed it up a little. Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter One: The Beginning_**

**--The Human--**

It was a quiet night, besides the tinkering of his father's lab and the continuous music coming from his sister's Game Slave. Dib new something was wrong. Usually, he could hear the strange, unnamable noises coming from Zim's house or G.I.R.'s constant screaming about Taquitoes or something ludicrous like that. Dib rolled onto his side and stared out his window. He knew that Zim was up to something because there was no glowing green light coming from Zim's house either. He made his decision; he was going to see what Zim was up to… once again.

Dib hoped out of bed in his alien-print boxers. He ran to his closet and took out his black boots, black pants, blue smiley T-shirt and his trade-mark black trench coat. He then ran into the bathroom that connected Gaz's room and his room. He dressed quickly, not knowing how much time he would have to do this. He made sure he brought his laptop. He didn't want to deal with Zim's evil garden gnomes… again… He would finally prove that bastard was an alien if it was the last thing he ever did! Then everyone would see that he was not crazy! Dib knew exactly what he must do. Hell, he'd tried it several times before. Then, making sure the hologram projector displaying the image of him sleeping at his desk, under a load of papers, was in place, he opened his window and disappeared into his tree.

He made his way over roofs and through the trees. He would have made a mighty fine Ninja, if not for his fascination with the paranormal… or the "Outer Limits" as some called it. He finally made his way to Zim's roof. To his surprise, G.I.R. was sitting tied to a tree, pretending to piss on it. Now Dib was sure Zim was up to something BIG. Zim always tied G.I.R up when it was something extremely important.

Dib pulled a panel off Zim's roof and hacked into the computer. It wasn't easy, considering he had done this before and now Zim changed his passwords daily. He finally succeeded and made himself a welcome "guest" in the house. He was no longer an intruder. He now belonged in that house. But, unbeknownst to the human boy, this would unravel into a much greater task then it would have taken him if he hadn't hacked into the houses mainframe. Dib typed the right password into the wrong place.

**--The Invader--**

It was very quiet in his base and he had been working diligently on his project since after Skool, the day before. He was glad he decided to tie G.I.R. to that retched tree and how he discovered how to make the glowing green of his house stop. He was a proud invader, and as such, didn't require much of the "sleeping" the human stink-beasts did every night. But, tonight was different. Zim was working himself far past his limit and needed that ridiculous sleep after only a week's time.

It was a comfortable night without much humidity, so Zim didn't have that constant prickly feeling on his green skin. Zim looked up from his work at the full moon. Perhaps, once he succeeded in conquering this filthy-dirt ball of a planet, he would give the moon to that idiot G.I.R… or maybe even to Dib… Zim shook his head. No. Dib was the enemy. A stink-beast! A worm-baby! And Zim was a proud Irken Invader, bent on world domination. He would give the moon to G.I.R. and no one else. He suspected the Dib would notice his house slowly becoming just that; a house. Or at least appear that way on the outside.

G.I.R. contacted Zim very suddenly, something about wanting something to eat or some other nonsense. Zim didn't pay much attention. He never did. G.I.R. was an idiot. You didn't need to be an Irken Elite to know that.

Zim went back to his work. He still needed to finish this to protect his base from the Dib _and_ to impress The Almighty Tallest of Irk. By now, his eyelids were starting to droop and his Irken stomach was actually starting to beg him for food. He felt as though G.I.R. was once again punching his sqeedilly-spootch. He yawned and decided that if he wanted full concentration, he was going to need food. He ordered his computer to cook him a big Irken meal, which it did. He ate for about fifteen minutes before going back to work. He would give the rest to G.I.R. later. Right now, there was work to be done.

As he worked, his eyelids drooped even more. He desperately needed sleep, but he refused to give in to his needs. As an Irken Invader, he was stronger than that. He once again looked at the moon to help him concentrate, and saw Dib-human jump onto his roof. Zim smiled at his cunning as he told his computer to switch on the "virus" he had just created. And with that, he collapsed on his desk, and gave his body the sleep it deserved. Dib was in for the ride of his life.

**--The Idiot---**

He was tied to a tree. His master had tied him to a tree. Now he ran around the tree, hit the tree, and then ran the other way around the tree. Then he would repeat the process. Yes, G.I.R. was an amazing creature. His stupidity made him cute. His master acted like he hated G.I.R., but he loved his master all the same.

G.I.R. pretended to piss on the tree by pouring water out of his suit. He had always tried to please his master, in his own special way. He cooked him meals that would sometimes try to eat them. He would always obey Zim, if it didn't interrupt his watching of the Scary Monkey Show. And he mostly wore his green doggy costume when he went outside. That all counted for something, right? Yes, G.I.R. was proud of himself because of everything he did for his master. So he started his running again.

G.I.R. called his master, with hopes of getting his tacos! He said he needed them, or he would explode! He did that sometimes. His master ignored him, as usual. G.I.R.'s intruder sensors were going wild so he looked up and saw the big-headed human jumping onto the roof. G.I.R. was about to call to his master again, when, suddenly, he decided that Dib was Ok, and he belonged there. Sighing with relief, G.I.R. pretended to piss on the tree once again.

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Credit goes to the above mentioned. Please review! Well, bye!


	2. Never Teach Old Aliens New Tricks

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Credit for this chapter goes to her, because this is her work. I just fixed it up a little. Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter Two: Never Teach Old Aliens New Tricks_**

As Dib entered the "house" via the front door, he noticed something missing… "Hey, where's Zim? I knew that he would be expecting me, but come on? Is he finally afraid that he'll be caught by me? No. He's up to something…"

Dib wandered around the base. Then, just to spite Zim, Dib walked back out, and brought G.I.R. back in. "BUT I WAS TIED TO MY TREE! I WANT MY TREE BACK!" G.I.R. cried with his annoying voice. But Dib remained calm because no matter how innocent G.I.R. looked on the outside, he could be extremely dangerous.

"Yes, but Zim said he was done with his work and that he wanted you back inside with him." Dib replied.

"REALLY? YAY! I GET TO WATCH THE SCARY MONKEY SHOW!" Screamed G.I.R. as he ran to the couch and turned on the T.V.

Dib smiled despite himself. G.I.R. was pretty cute when he didn't have about 400 lasers pointed at you from the inside of his head. _And Zim could be pretty easy on the eyes as well…_ thought Dib still smiling. He realized what had just run through his head and smacked himself in the face. _No! He's the enemy! I can't feel this way towards someone like him! ZIM IS THE ENEMY!_ Dib noticed that G.I.R. was staring at him so he smiled.

"CAN I HAVE MY TAQUITOES NOW?" cried G.I.R. in his annoying voice. Dib had his answer prepared.

"Of course. That's why Zim told me to bring you inside. He says he has your Taquitoes ready for you, wherever he is. But he says you have to get them yourself."

"OK!" Screamed G.I.R. as he jumped off the couch, smile still plastered on his face, and he ran for the depths of the hidden base. Dib smiled. _This is easier than I thought. I'll get to Zim faster then you can say… "ZIM'S AN ALIEN!"_ Dib followed the little droid to the toilet in the kitchen. G.I.R. jumped in and squealed with delight as he flushed and suddenly disappeared. Dib followed shortly after.

Dib's ride was over shortly. "Holy shit… I hope I never have to do that again… That was just sickening…" He spotted the little robot again and quickened his pace to catch up with him_. I must be almost there. G.I.R.'s starting to slow down._ G.I.R. turned a corner and disappeared behind it. Dib was swift enough to catch the little bot's antennae as he went through a door. He followed and soon saw something he'd never think he'd witness… Zim: sleeping… It was almost too much for the young paranormal investigator to bare. Zim was asleep, defenseless… and yet… he was smiling… This, for one reason or another, melted Dib's heart… He was somehow compelled to go against his will and apologize to the "young" alien for all the wrongs he had committed against him. Zim was so cute while he slept and that hit Dib like a ton of bricks.

He walked over to Zim as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake him with any noise.

Zim woke up to the sound of Dib's footsteps as he came closer, but knew to remain motionless, to continue faking his sleep. Dib's heart beat faster with each step, but he was still uncertain why. Finally, with a shaky hand, he touched the alien's shoulder. There was a blinding flash of light and for Dib, everything went black.

Dib woke up a while later, collapsed upon the desk he had witnessed Zim on. He figured Zim had put him there to test on him or something_. Just wait until I get you, Zim! Then _you_ will be the one being tested on!_ He thought, as he looked out the window above Zim's desk. It was day-break.

"Shit! I've got to get home! Gaz will be up soon! I don't want her to think I was out all night! Not after what happened last time…" Dib cringed at the memory, not noticing the sudden change of the sound of his voice. He jumped up. "Good. He left my backpack alone." He said, feeling the weight on his back. He ran over to the elevators, which shot him up to the upper levels of the base.

G.I.R. was sitting on the couch, not noticing Dib's entrance, or just simply not caring because of the Scary Monkey Show. Dib shrugged it off and walked over to the door to leave. As he passed G.I.R., the bot screamed, "MASTER! ARE YOU GOING TO GET MY TAQUITOES NOW? HUH? _HUH?"_ Dib turned around to see if Zim was behind him but only to see that he was the only life-form in the room.

"G.I.R., are you talking to me?" Dib inquired.

"WHO ELSE WOULD I BE TALKING TO, MY LORD?" The droid squealed.

"B-but G.I.R…" Dib stuttered. "I-I'm Dib. Not Zim."

"MASTER! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU JOKED AROUND LIKE THAT! I LIKE THAT JOKE! …PIGGY!" G.I.R. held up his squeaky pig toy thingy.

"I'm not joking, G.I.R.! I'm Dib!"

"NO, YOU AIN'T! THE BIG-HEADED BOY JUST LEFT, SAYING THAT HIS SISTER WOULD KILL HIM! YAY! HE'S DOOMED!" G.I.R. grabbed his… uh… toes. Dib remained silent for a moment. How could he have already left when he was right here? And… what was with that bright light he saw… the one before everything goes blank? And, still yet, WHY DID HE HAVE THIS SUDDEN URGE TO DISTROY ALL MAN-KIND?

Something clicked in Dib's head. "G.I.R. Get me a mirror. And be quick about it!" He barked. G.I.R.'s eyes glowed a dangerous red.

"Yes, my Lord." He said, as he pulled out a mirror. Dib wondered why on earth G.I.R. had a mirror, but shook the thought aside.

"Give me that mirror NOW, G.I.R.!" He said, struggling to keep his cool, while his adrenalin started to kick in. G.I.R. handed over the mirror, eyes his perky blue again.

"Ooooh! Shiny!" He squealed. Dib looked in the mirror… The look of horror on his face grossly green. Dib screamed. G.I.R. turned the volume on the T.V. up to an incredible… uh… volume. Dib screamed louder than he ever could have. He almost fainted. He could hardly believe it. His brain was stuck in Zim's body.

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Credit goes to the above mentioned. Please review! Well, bye!


	3. Skool: Hardships or New Friendships?

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Credit for this chapter goes to her, because this is her work. I just fixed it up a little. Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter Three: Skool: Hardships or New Friendships?_**

Zim had it easy. He would just sneak into The Dib's room and search for his major weaknesses. "This is much too easy." He told himself with a grin. "I will make sure that NOBODY ever believed Dib-human about me being an alien. Oh, the Tallest will be so proud of my evil! All I had to do was switch bodies with that nasty stink-beast! Though it has absolutely NO physical strength, it will be worth it in the end! I WILL DESTROY THE CREATURES THAT INHABIT THIS FILTHY DIRTBALL OF A PLANET! Then, I will give it to the Tallest. They will _have_ to forgive me for all those fires on Irk! …But I did make them better. …I AM ZIM!" Zim, being the idiot that he was, screamed his plans at the top of his lungs, for ALL to hear. And so the downside, as all evil plans had them, was that Dib-human heard Zim's plans and also could do the same thing to Zim. Why? Because Zim's faithful half robot half doggy companion would now obey Dib.

Zim, head in the clouds, strolled down the streets toward Dib's house. It was dawn, so no one was up yet. Zim jumped up into the tree by Dib's window, and made his way inside, preparing for the Sunday that lie ahead.

Zim woke up from the sleep that his new body required. He walked downstairs to find the sister, Gaz, playing that God-awful Game Slave. Zim made mistake number one: He went over to watch, thinking it might be something the Dib would do. He sat down next to the Gaz and watched over her shoulder. "If you wanna keep all your limbs, Dib, you will go away, and you will go away _now."_ She threatened without even looking up.

"I have as much right as sitting here as you do, human!" Zim yelled in her ear. Big mistake number two. Gaz, seemingly calmly, turned off her Game Slave. She turned around to face "Dib". Next thing Zim knew, he was hanging upside down from the ceiling fan. Gaz turned on the fan and left the room, ignoring Zim's cries of apology. Zim, after some struggling, finally got loose of the rope Gaz somehow magically obtained, only to hit his head on the hard-wood floor.

The rest of Zim's Sunday went the same. He would annoy Gaz, thinking that what he was doing was something that Dib would do, and then Gaz would hang him upside down from somewhere.

Zim walked to Skool with Gaz, completely silent. He had learned, all in one day, what the Dib-human went through in his home life. Well, at least Skool would give him a place to plot his next move. Zim spotted Dib in his body, and quickly disappeared into the crowd of kids behind him. He didn't think the Dib-human would come to Skool in his present condition. _No matter,_ Zim thought to himself. _We'll just have to act like each other, won't we? I'll make that a part of my plan. He gets his information, and I'll get mine… I AM ZIM!_ Zim thought this to himself, as he couldn't scream it.

He walked into class and sat by the window, where he had once had to sit on Opposite Day… When he was being stalked by some loony named Johnny, the Homicidal Maniac. He shuddered at the memory. The rest of the class filed in, Dib coming in last. _Wow, he's smarter than he looks. He took my idea about acting like each other. Perfect… _He smirked to himself.

"Dib! I would like to start my rare role call. STOP LOOKING HAPPY!" Zim's thoughts were interrupted by Ms. Bitters. Oh, how he hated her. _What would The Dib-human do…?_ He thought quickly and suddenly came up with something… not half-bad.

"Sorry, Ms. Bitters. So, start the role call. Just remember to start with A for Alien. Then Zim would have to answer AND THAT WOULD PROVE THAT HE'S AN ALIEN!" Zim hopped on "his" desk and pointed in Dib's direction.

"Alright," She hissed back. "I'll play it your way, Dib. I'll start with Alien. Is there anyone with Alien for a name in this class? HM?" Nobody in Zim's class raised their hand. "I guess Mr. Alien must be out today, Dib. NOW PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEAT!" He sat, another kid called him crazy, and Dib just smiled at him… A knowing smile…

Ms. Bitters went on with her so called teaching then lunched rolled by, just as Dib and Zim's glares toward each other were getting more intense. Zim was the first one out, as Dib usually was and Dib was the last one out, as Zim usually was. Zim sat at a random table in the cafeteria and poked at the food on his lunch tray. The Dib-human usually ate this disgusting Earth food. But everything on the tray was poison to him… Dib would surely know this… Somebody sat in front of him but he neither noticed nor cared until...

"So, Dib-human. Not hungry?" Zim looked up to see "himself" sitting in front of him. Zim shrugged Dib's strong shoulders. Zim had to admit, for a geeky scientist, Dib did have some nice muscles. He just hid them under his jacket. "Listen, Zim. I don't know how you managed to do it, but I know you switched our bodies. Now tell me why!" Dib whispered threateningly.

"I think you already know why. And you better keep up acting like me… Or nobody will ever see you again… Not that they'll care…" Zim smirked, his usual evil smile. Dib thought it looked horrible on his body.

"Change. Us. Back." Dib almost screamed. The look in his eyes was unbecoming for an Irken Soldier.

"Oh, alright, alright. I've had enough of your stupid sister anyway. I'll go home with you after Skool. I don't have my technology here. But this is a secret, you got it?" Dib nodded and started to pick at Zim's food.

"So, you really can't eat this stuff, can you?" Zim shook his head cautiously. _The Dib-human must be up to something. I'll have to keep my wits about me._ Dib shrugged, as though he didn't really care and asked another question about Zim, this one more general. "How can you stand living with that maniac G.I.R. all the fricken time? He doesn't ever shut up!" It was Zim's turn to shrug.

"You get used to it…" He tried a bite of food. In this body, it didn't actually taste too bad… He made a small face and continued eating. He looked at the human across from him and saw him staring at the food wistfully… He sighed… almost a defeated sigh. "There's some food in my Pak if you want it… It won't hurt my body…" A ghost of a smile grew on Dib's face. Dib thought for a second, and out popped a candy-bar looking thing. He ate it and thought it was ok… Zim was impressed that he actually ate it.

Skool literally dragged on as Zim and Dib were hardly looking at each other. In fact, they avoided each other's eyes until after Skool. Zim told Gaz that he was going home with "Zim" and… she socked him in the eye. Glasses now broken, Zim and Dib together walked to Zim's house. They didn't say anything to one another and Dib practically followed Zim home. He knew the way… But decided he didn't need Zim laughing at him incase he took a wrong turn somewhere.

The only sound on the street was the sound of their shoes hitting the asphalt. When they got to Zim's house, G.I.R. was there waiting for them. "MASTER!" He squealed. "YOU ARE HOME! GASP! THE HUMAN HAS YOU CAPTIVE! …I LIKE CORN!" He ran in circles a couple times, then ran into the house. Zim, although being used to these wild outbursts, was still stupefied by G.I.R.'s consistency of stupidity.

"Advanced my ass." he said as they followed G.I.R. inside, awaiting the inevitable appearance of the robo-parents.

"Welcome home, Son!" they screamed and they were shoved back into the closet.

"Alright, Dib-human. Let's get back into our own bodies." Zim said, almost sounding defeated, as he led the way into the kitchen-type-thing. He sat in the "toilet" and flushed, disappearing. Dib did the same. When he landed, Dib was a little shaky.

"I will NEVER get used to that."

"You won't have to, Stink-beast. As soon as we get our bodies back, YOU'RE NEVER COMING BACK IN HERE AGAIN!" Zim retorted.

"Oh, really?" Dib said sarcastically. "Aw, I wanted to come back here every day for the REST OF MY SCREWED UP LIFE!" Now they were having a screaming fight. The one who screamed loudest, without his throat rebelling and rupturing, would win.

"You're nothing compared to me, Earth boy! When we get our bodies back, why don't you go home and shave your giant head of smell with your bad self!" Dib was taken aback with this statement.

"Okay... There's all kinds of things wrong with what you just said." They tied. So tired of each other right now, Zim told Dib what to say to the computer, when, in order to get back into their original bodies. Dib followed instructions without complaint. Then, Zim turned to face Dib and put a hand on his shoulder. There was a blinding flash of light, then everything went black for both of them.

Zim awoke first, with Dib shortly after. They took one look at each other. Zim gasped and Dib nearly fainted. This wasn't what they were expecting…

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Credit goes to the above mentioned. Please review! Well, bye!


	4. SWITCHED!

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Credit for this chapter goes to her, because this is her work. I just fixed it up a little. Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter Four: SWITCHED!_**

Zim quickly checked his computer for any viruses and as of yet, hadn't found a trace of one. He looked again at Dib, and was still absolutely shocked. Not only were they still in each other's bodies, but now they were girls! Female! NO LONGER BOYS! Even their outfits had changed.

Zim's body now had a strip of armor lost from around his waist. His black pants now a pink skirt, and his shirt bore no sleeves. His gray Pak turned black and the pink circles on it turned into pink hearts. His once dull teeth were now her sharp fangs.

Dib's body looked very odd indeed. His blue shirt with a gray indifferent smiley was now a red shirt with a pink indifferent smiley. His scythe-like hair was longer and had two more spikes going down her neck with two in front of her eyes with the tips dyed red. His honey-golden eyes were now her vibrant red ones. From his right ear dangled an earring shaped as Saturn. His black coat now her maroon one, and his pants now a black skirt with a red stripe down the side and black tights.

"Zim!" Dib yelled in a higher-pitched version of Zim's own voice. "What did you do? I didn't want this!" Without realizing, Dib struck a feminine pose. After noticing what she was doing, Dib quickly shoved her hands into her pockets and leaned against the wall of the Hidden Base.

"I did nothing, Earth-Boy… uh… Girl, now, I suppose…" Zim was actually telling the truth this time. She didn't do this. And G.I.R. wasn't smart enough to create a virus like the one Zim had just found in her Super Computer. She wasn't paying much attention to anything as she was searching her computer for the source, so, of course, she didn't notice Dib coming over to her until she grabbed the lapels of Zim's maroon jacket and pulled Zim close to her until their faces almost touched. Zim could feel Dib's hot breath on her face as Dib asked the question she had been dreading.

"Can you fix it?"

Zim didn't know what to say. She couldn't say no because she wanted out of this body as much as Dib wanted to be out of hers and of the male species again… but she couldn't exactly say yes either because she didn't know what the virus was. She thought it seemed familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Where had she seen it before? Dib saw the look of self-argument and confusion in her own eyes as she looked at Zim, at the female version of himself, and she decided to do the one thing she'd only done once before.

"OK, Zim. I'm going to help you." She saw a glee on "Zim's" face and concluded hastily, "Uh, but only because I… uh…" She let go of Zim's lapels and cast her gaze down-ward. "I want to get out of your body… As much as you want to… uh get out of mine…" She rubbed the back of her head.

"Alright, Dib-human. We'll call a truce until this is over. You can… stay with me so your family does not go insane with envy and throw you out the window of hurt or something." Dib looked up and nodded a little, slight confusion etched on her face. Zim continued. "We will find out what's going on and destroy whoever has done this and get back to our selves." She concluded, with a monotonous voice. "After that, I don't know what will happen between us." Dib looked at Zim with curious eyes but ignored it. Did Zim mean something when she said "between us"? Or did it just mean the fighting would continue. Dib was unsure. She decided to shrug it off as coincidence, hoping Zim meant the something else.

"Ok. But… We should probably call my house to tell them… Or at least tell Gaz…" Dib's words were hesitant but grew stronger as she went along.

"Good idea, Human stink-beast. You don't need another black eye." Zim took Dib's glasses off her face and looked at the cracked lens. She put them in one of her machines and after a few minutes of annoying beeping, there were all fixed.

"Um… Ok… We should probably lay off the insults for now then. So if there's anything you want to call me, you better do it now." Dib said, staring at the glasses.

Zim and Dib tried everything they could think of. They worked diligently for weeks on end, but to no avail. During the night, Zim would usually go to sleep and Dib would stay up all night, but nothing became of that as Zim was the only one who really knew how to use the Super Computer. One night, while Dib was just sitting in the swivel chair, staring at the screen, she had a thought.

She knew a girl, who was as bright as a 100-watt light-bulb. His father's assistant's daughter, Rina. Zim woke up a while later. She stretched, yawned, and walked over to Dib, who was thinking too deeply to notice anything. Zim squatted down in front of Dib, making her jump clear out of the chair.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked Dib.

"Oh… There's this girl I know… She is extremely smart and I think she could help us." Dib said, still thinking on this.

"Very well. We will visit this human, though I don't think she will be much help. But OK. We'll go. Just to make you happy and to show you how much the human race still needs to learn." Dib stood up from the floor and patted herself off.

"Ok, let's go going!" The girlyness dripped off her voice like venom. The longer they stayed like this, the harder it would be to return to normal. They left the lair and made their way down the street. They walked up to the door once they made it the house after a few moments of silence. It took them two hours to get there, so it was about noon when they rang the bell.

It was a young girl who answered the door, no older than 15. She looked at them quizzically. "Can I help you?" She inquired.

"Please, we need to speak with Miss Rina in private… Can we come in…?" Dib said, motioning to the inside.

"Do forgive my rudeness, of course you may." Rina said as she stepped aside and bowed to let Dib and Zim in. Rina watched them carefully and followed them in, locking the door.

Dib looked around, making sure they were completely alone, before she blurted out, "Rina! It's me! Dib!" Rina stared at her.

"I do not know of who you speak. I know of a boy named Dib, but he is not a girl nor is his skin… green…" She said calmly, looking at the green skin in slight curiosity.

"Rina! I'm telling the truth!" Dib screamed, and she told Rina what happened. "And that's what happened." Dib concluded after about an hour of explanation. Rina nodded as a small dog trotted into the room.

"Ah, Akina. Just the dog I wanted to see." Rina glanced at the dog, then nodded over towards her newly screwed up friends. Akina trotted over to the two girls and started sniffing them up and down. When she was finished, she trotted back over to Rina happily, and let out a very loud bark, followed by a barrage of tail wags. "Well, according to Akina, you have the same scents of the boys called Zim and Dib. I guess I could trust you… I'll just need a blood sample from each of you to figure out an anti-virus for this virus. That will not be a problem, yes?"

Zim had had enough of listening to this bull shit. "ENOUGH, TINY HUMAN WORM-BABY! YOU WILL FIX US WITHOUT THE BLOOD SAMPLES OF THE INVADER BLOOD THAT RUNS THROUGH MY BLOOD! I JUST WANT BACK INTO MY PROUD BODY WITH MY BOYISH PERFECTION BEFORE I GO INSANE, STINK-BEAST!" She blurted, not realizing what she said until Dib jabbed her arm with her elbow. Rina stared, then smiled. This was going to be fun.

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Credit goes to the above mentioned. Please review! Well, bye!


	5. Surprises Come in Strange Places

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Credit for this chapter goes to her, because this is her work. I just fixed it up a little. Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter Five: Surprises Come in Strange Places_**

"Invader you say?" Inquired Rina, looking… happy. "Very well. I was going to charge you for this task, though you say you are my friend Dib. But… I shall reconsider, Invader. I will help you. But I will still need a blood sample." She finished, an insane, twisted smile growing on her face.

Dib nudged Zim again. "Come on, Zimmy-boy! Don't you want to be a boy again? AND get back into your own body?" Dib said, traces of urgency on her words.

"Ooook… BUT JUST ONE, FILTHY HUMAN GIRL! ANYMORE THAN THAT AND I WILL SERVE YOU THINGS THAT WHICH WILL CAUSE YOU MUCH… PAIN… STUFF!" Zim shouted at the girl, who just blinked and agreed.

"Very well. Just one. But… what happens when your blood dries out… and I NEED another sample?" She said, lazily, like she wasn't interested very much anymore. Zim was flustered. She hasn't thought of that.

"OH, VERY WELL! TAKE AS MANY AS YOU NEED! NOTHING MORE, HUMAN! OR THEIR SHALL BE ROYAL WITNESSES TO WITNESS THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS PLANET AND TO WITNESS THE CRUSHING OF THE HUMANS THAT INHABIT IT!" Zim was losing her temper, and quickly. But Rina could handle herself, all the same.

"I do not wish to watch that." She told her quietly, trying to calm her down a bit. And it worked. At least, to some extent.

"Oh, OK. I was just saying…" Zim mumbled, extending her arm as Rina brought out a needle. "Go ahead. Do your worst." Zim said, as she hung her head in defeat.

Rina chuckled slightly. "It doesn't hurt much at all, Zim. Trust me…?" She smiled at her. A loving smile; something the Tallest nor anyone, besides Dib, had ever given her.

"Ooook… I guess I'll trust you if the Earth-boy does." Realizing what she said, Zim added hastily, "But I don't have to like it!" Rina nodded, still smiling, as she put some brownish-red liquid (Iodine) on Zim's arm.

"Very well. Now hold still." She whispered and the needle plunged into Zim's arm. Rina was right. It didn't hurt that badly. Rina pulled back on the handle and got a very good sample of blood before she pulled it out of the Invader's arm. "See, it wasn't that bad. And I have gotten a very good sample from you, Invader. And now onto Dib." Rina looked at the green girl as she pulled out yet another sterile needle.

"Now hold still." Rina said, plunging the needle into Dib's new green skin, after applying the Iodine. Dib's eye twitched in pain, but she remained silent. Rina gently drew back on the handle and got another good sample of green blood before pulling out the needle. "There… Another fine sample. You are welcome to stay here, but I need to research these samples right away. Atonohouno." She bowed, holding the two needles, and walked to her lab down stairs.

"Atonohouno? WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT THE HELL IS SHE TALKIONG ABOUT? SHE'S MOCKING ME, ISN'T SHE? JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!" Shouted Zim, as Rina's lab-coat disappeared from sight. Dib shook her head.

"Rina's from another country called Japan, Alien-Boy. She speaks Japanese. Just like you speak… whatever on the planet you're from. Atonohouno is Japanese for 'Later.'" She explained, knowing Zim would probably not know what Japan was.

"I see. So… This human female is not from around here, either, hm? Interesting…" Zim smiled.

They stood for what seemed like an hour in utter silence, both trying hard not to look at the other. Dib rocked on her heels while Zim stared at the floor. She looked around then seated herself on the love-seat. Dib followed shortly.

"You tired, Zim?" She asked, seeing utter exhaustion on "Zim's" face.

"Yes," She replied with a yawn. "But I don't know why. Your body does tend to need a lot of sleep. And I got a whole night of sleep last night, didn't I?" Zim was confused. Was the human body really this complex? Did it really do strange things like make you more tired?

Dib sighed, then, with a small chuckle, replied, "Sometimes, humans need more sleep during the day. Sometimes, we barley need any. You just had some blood taken out of you, so that'll add to it, too. If you wanna sleep, go ahead. I think it'll take Rina a while to find the cure to… whatever this is…"

Zim merely shook her head. She at last spoke with, "I don't need any sleep. I'm not of this world as you know, and I'm a proud Invader." Dib looked at Zim a minute, then shrugged and turned on the television. Mysterious Mysteries was on and she didn't want to miss it.

After a few minutes, she felt a sudden pressure on her shoulder. She looked over only to see Zim asleep, resting her drooping head on Dib's shoulder. Dib was shocked at first, but then remembered that Zim would have no control over her body in her sleep. Being cautious, Dib silently slipped an arm around Zim's limp shoulders and held her close. She would never say this in mixed company but… _Zim… I think I love you._ She thought to herself, kissing Zim's forehead. _And I think I always have. But I just realized my feelings recently. I know you could never return my love, but…_

"Zim, I love you."

Rina reappeared an hour later with two beakers, one filled with a green liquid, one with a red liquid. "This should do the trick." Zim was awake by this point, unaware of the things Dib had said to her.

"What should do the trick, human?" She snapped, back to her hyper self again.

_She has got to have ADHD or something…_ Rina thought to herself. "I have the cure. Here." She handed Dib the beaker of red liquid and then the green one to Zim. "Drink them. That should fix you. Or at least, I hope it will." She concluded.

Zim and Dib stared at each other, then at the beakers. "Well, down the hatch." Whispered Dib, downing it in one gulp. Zim stared a while longer then did the same. The next thing the three of them saw was a bright flash of light, then Dib could finally see the body she had inhabited for so long. _Wow… Zim's hot as a… GIRL?_

"Oh, no." Rina exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands in surprise.

"WHY AM I STILL OF THE FEMALE SPECIES?" Zim roared.

"I apologize." Rina said, bowing. "I will need another sample of blood to complete this." Zim twitched, and stabbed herself in the arm. "Ara waga kyuuten! (Oh my Heavens!)" Rina was short of breath. Was this really that kind of desperate time?

"THERE! TAKE AS MUCH AS YOU NEED, FILTHY HUMAN!" Rina, in a state of shock, took another sample of Zim's blood. Reality coming back to her, she quickly wrapped Zim's arm in bandages.

"Silly girl. That was foolish." Then, after getting another sample of Dib's blood, went back to the lab. Dib was still staring at Zim because of her wild outburst.

"Z-Zim… Why did you do that…?" Zim pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them.

"I'm just… frustrated, Human… I'm surprised you aren't." She said after a minute. "I just want things to go back to normal… I just want to go home…" She whimpered.

Dib was concerned. "But… your home is right down the street." She tried to comfort Zim, but to no avail.

"NO… Not "Hidden-Base" home… I want to go back to Irk! I want to go _home!"_ She cried, as her disguise fell from her head. Dib said no more, knowing Zim needed her space.

Rina, once again, reappeared a while later carrying two blue beakers this time, only to find Zim and Dib sleeping on her couch. She looked at Zim with sorrowful eyes, then poured one of the beakers into her mouth. She turned to Dib and did the same and watched them as they slowly morphed back to normal. 'Wow, they really are Dib and his friend Zim. But how will I break it to them? This is very serious…' Rina thought as the boys finished morphing.

Dib woke up first, as Rina suspected. Dib looked around and saw Zim, lying near him and let out a shout of joy. "I'M A GUY AGAIN! FEEL THE WRATH OF DIB, THE HUMAN BOY PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR!" He did a little victory dance to celebrate. He felt as though he were the happiest person alive. At least, until he looked at Rina's face; so full of sorrow. "Rina, what's wrong?" He asked, taking a step toward her.

"Dib, I need to tell you something. It's very important." She whispered, casting her gaze down at Dib's worried face. "Dib, Zim is very ill. He has an Irken disease. It will slowly eat away at his body from the inside. The only ones I know of that can create this virus is the Almighty Tallest of Irk. If we cannot get him there, he WILL die…" Dib was horror struck then had a thought…

"Hey. How did you know that Zim was an Irken?" Dib was getting suspicious. Rina's reply made his heart skip.

"**Oh, well, that's easy. That's because…"**

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Credit goes to the above mentioned. Please review! Well, bye!


	6. The Vanishing

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Credit for this chapter goes to her, because this is her work. I just fixed it up a little. Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter Six: The Vanishing_**

"Oh, well, that is easy. That is because I am an Elite Irken Invader; Right Hand Irken to the Almighty Tallest." Rina bowed again. Dib thought he was going to have a heart attack when the girl in front of him started to change her form. First, her black, pink-tipped hair fell out, like she was balding in extremely fast motion, revealing two Irken antennae. Then, her eyes went from normal and blue to big, glowing orbs of evil; one purple and one red. Circling her purple eye was a red circle. Same with the red one, except the circle was purple. Her normal pink and black human skirt changed into a reddish-pink skirt mimicking the bottom half of Zim's armor. Her neon-pink top did the same, except it was a light purple. A PAK like Zim's appeared on her back, only black with pink hearts instead of pink circles. Then her pale skin turned green, like Zim's. Then, to top everything off, the 5'2" girl grew.

Now, Dib had seen the Tallest of Irk, and knew about how tall they were. Rina now stood at most an inch shorter than them. Her head scraping the ceiling, she looked very scary indeed.

"Holy shit…" He said under his breath. "You really are Irken… But… How? I've known you since I was in pre-school. Your mom, who was my dad's assistant, brought you over every day to watch Gaz and me."

Rina nodded and said, "Wrong. I only altered your memory to make you think that. I'm very handy at these kinds of things. But you should not be worrying about that now. We must take care of Zim first." She concluded, with a sigh, as Zim was now awakening. Dib snapped back into reality and rushed over to Zim, who was having trouble sitting up.

Zim's eyes were glazing over as he scanned the room quickly. His eyes rested on Rina and he immediately saluted and jumped to his feet with respect. "My Lady, I mean no disrespect by being in this condition, but I am abnormally tired--" He started, but Rina interrupted.

"Zim… Please rest. There is something very important that needs to be said. Now listen, and that is an order"

Zim was about to comply, but collapsed from exhaustion. Dib caught him and put him gently on the couch. Rina then went on to explain Zim's condition to him.

"Zim, you have an Irken disease. It's very rare and only the Tallest know how to make it, as they are the creators of it. Zim, the Tallest have infected you with something that will eat you from the inside-out. I was sent here, not only to keep you from discovering the truth, but to destroy you. I have failed my mission to the Tallest, and I wish to never do that again. So that is why I am now helping you. And that is why you are feeling so tired, my sweet little Irken. Now, I beg you to please go back to sleep."

Zim, stunned as he was at this information, was still outraged. "YOU LIE!" He screamed. "THE ALMIGHTY TALLEST WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ONE OF THEIR BEST INVADERS! MI'LADY, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME LIES!" Zim, proud Irken Invader, Pilot of the Voot Runner, Master of G.I.R. Zim, the Shortest and most determined Irken Invader to ever live, was on the verge of tears.

How dare his Trainer lie to him? She had trained in the most deadly form of training there was to be trained in. She had always showered him with love. She had seen many wars, so she had taught him what to expect from unknown enemies. She had been like a Parental Unit to him. Rina had always spoken the truth. Why did she choose now to lie?

"Zim, I lie not. Contact the Tallest when you are feeling better and see for your self. They will be stunned to see you alive and breathing." Rina said, a little frustrated with the tiny Irken's innocence.

Zim screamed, "I WILL CALL THEM RIGHT NOW AND PROVE THAT YOU LIE!" Or, at least, that was what he had meant to scream… He more or less mumbled something incomprehensible before passing out and sprawling himself across the couch.

"What did you do to him? He was about to answer but then your antennae…" Dib started, as he stared at Rina, who was just relaxing her antennae back against her head.

"As I said before, you may recall, I am very handy at playing tricks on the mind. I just put Zim to sleep for a while. He needs his rest." Rina said, heading out of the room. "Would you like something to eat?" She added. Dib was about to say no when his stomach let out a massive growl. Rina giggled. "I shall take that as a yes." She stated as she walked into her kitchen and disappeared.

Dib sighed and sat back on the couch.

It was a while before Zim woke up, but when he did, he let everyone know it. "DAMN YOU, RINA! GET BACK IN HER SO THAT I MAY KICK YOUR SORRY HEAD!" he shrieked.

"Zim, I think the phrase is 'kick your sorry ass'. Heads don't have anything to do with it." Dib corrected gently as Rina trotted back into the room. Zim didn't care and was blinded by rage.

"Alright, Zim. To stop your senseless racquet, we will be taking a trip to: IRK, to see the truth." She said, pulling out a remote.

"What's that?" Dib asked.

"It is my remote. To call my Voot Runner." She said, and pressed a button. Zim, Dib, Akina, Rina, and little G.I.R. down the street glowed a brilliant blue and they were teleported onto Rina's Voot.

"Nice little set you have." Zim was trying to apologize for his earlier outbursts.

"Thank you, Zim." Rina pushed many buttons faster than Dib or Zim could make them out and the Voot started to hum. Akina shed her dog disguise and reveled herself as a S.I.R. She, also, started pressing buttons. "Hold on to your lunches everyone!" Rina cried, as the Voot started rising. Zim held Dib and Dib held Zim and Akina and G.I.R. held each other. That's when the five "friends" disappeared from the planet. For a time, anyway.

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Credit goes to the above mentioned. Please review! Well, bye!


	7. Code: Infiltration

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. The rest of the chapters from here on out are MINE! Now, enjoy!

**_Persona Reversed_**

**_Chapter Seven: Code: Infiltration_**

Had it been only a day? A week? A month or year? Hell, maybe even a millennium?

Rina said otherwise, but in space, far away from your own sun and simply passing by others, time was funny. His watch had stopped forever and a day ago, so that was useless, but Zim seemed to know exactly what time it was. Rina could make a close guess, yet Zim had it down to the very second. It had been three days, five hours, and somewhere around forty minutes. Dib wondered how he knew.

"Are we there yet?"

Dib nearly slammed his head into some of the ships many controls, but restrained himself. That would only serve to give him a concussion. However efficient he was at telling time, Zim's patience couldn't be improved by it. He had been asking that for hours. Every hour, on the hour, he would announce the hour, then that infernal question would follow at five minute intervals. Dib had come severely close to giving himself a concussion many times. And once or twice the idea of throttling the little Irken had flitted through his mind, only to be squashed by something.

"Zim, please do not ask that question again or I will stab you." Rina said calmly enough, though her voice held no room for argument. Zim nodded obediently, scared for his life.

Minutes later, though…

"Are we THERE yet?"

"AAAGGHHHH!" She jumped up from her seat at the steering controls and made a dive for Zim, the ship's autopilot activated. Silver spidery like appendages appeared from her PAK. They held her up, so that she was even taller than before. She followed Zim as he ran around, trying to catch him so she could stab him. "Come back here, Zim!" she yelled angrily. "I need to stab you with something!"

"NEVER!" he returned, running past Dib and almost knocking him down. Zim turned and caught him at the last second. But, when he pulled him back up, they overbalanced, and Dib just ended up falling over onto Zim. They crashed to the floor, a tangle of limbs rolling around. Rina stood over them, watching with interest. The spidery legs disappeared into her PAK.

Faces inches from each others', Dib had a clear view of Zim's eyes. Momentarily they stopped their struggling. Their breathing was a little ragged, and Dib could feel Zim's warm breath on his face, fogging up his glasses. He could see it in his eyes. The thing. The disease. It was starting to devour him. And it was starting with those eyes. Those pink eyes which he knew so well. The ones that always used to look at him with utter loathing and a kind of insanity. Now they were dulling. Not with death, but with that disease that his own leaders had infected him with. His own leaders!

In his musings, Dib didn't notice how the distance between them was so minimal. Zim enlightened the Dib-human non too gently…

"Stink-beast! Remove yourself from ZIM'S almighty FACE!"

Dib winced at the other's voice. They were so close—in each others' faces! Did Zim really _have_ to yell? Besides… "Your on top of me." he pointed out. Something akin to a blush tinted the Irken's face a light blue. The Irken version of it, most likely. He looked almost cute. The thought was in and out of Dib's mind before he could recognize it. The blush faded.

"So, you two going to kiss or what?" The voice was full of contained laughter. That blue blush appeared on Zim's face for a repeat performance, only more pronounced. Dib could feel one staining his own face, too. Not blue but a rosy pink.

Rolling off of Dib, Zim stood and glared daggers at Rina. Dib stood up behind him. She finally allowed a giggle to escape. Followed by a laugh. Then she was on the Voot Runner's pink floor, rolling around and laughing madly, a blue tint on her green face, also. Zim, however, looked furious and in no mood to share a chuckle.

"How dare YOU to even SUGGEST that I, ZIM, Irk's most RESPECTED INVADER, KISS a stupid stink-beast like HIM!" A gloved finger was jabbed rudely in Dib's direction, nearly going up his nose.

A glare was sent back at Zim as she calmed her self and got to her feet. "Damn it, Zim, it was just a joke!" she said. He acknowledged that with a curt nod, and walked over to the other side of the ship to sit down in one of the two spare chairs Rina had set out for them.

Dib looked up at her, asking, "What was that about, Rina?"

With a sigh, she shook her head and sat at the Voot Runner's steering controls. "He's just frustrated."

"About what?" he inquired, staring at Zim, who was watching Gir and Akina. The two units where playing with a basketball that Gir had been carrying around in his head for some unknown reason. Dib was even willing to bet that Gir didn't even know why he had it!

"Well, wouldn't you be frustrated if everything you've known, everything you've believed in, was suddenly being questioned? Put under a bright light for observation?" she asked, looking sadly at Zim. "He's being eaten from the inside out, and he refuses to accept it. He still wants to believe that the Almighty Tallest haven't banished him again. That he really _is_ on a top secret mission."

"Wait," Dib interrupted, sitting on the second spare chair. "Again? Zim's been banished before?" Rina nodded in confirmation. "What happened? Why was he banished?"

Rina told him of Zim's checkered past, being interrupted only once when Zim declared that he had "Made the fires better".

After a while, she finished. Dib just sat there and kind of absorbed it all. No wonder the Tallest had wanted to get rid of him. He had been so much trouble! This abruptly reminded him about Zim's eyes. "The disease has already started to spread." he stated, the words out a second after he had thought it.

"How do you know?" Zim and Rina chorused, looking at him curiously.

"It's in you eyes." He received blank looks and a "Hmm?" from Zim. "Your eyes are kind of dull. That's were the disease is starting."

They sat in silence. No one moved for some time. Not even Zim, who would usually say that he was lying. Even he could not deny this new information.

"We are approaching the Massive." The computer announced. They looked grimly out the windows at the huge, pink ship with the Irken symbol imprinted on its side. Surrounding the Massive was a scattering of other Irkens' Voot Runners.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Zim asked, for once in his life being completely calm.

"We slip in, among their ranks, and take them down. But we'll need disguises." Rina said, standing and turning around so that she faced the computer. "Fortunately, I think I have that covered. Computer!"

"Yes?"

"I need three disguises. Now!" she ordered.

In front of her, the controls slid aside revealing a black hole. From it, three gray mechanical hands extended forth. In each was a… disguise thing. It looked a lot like the thing Tak wore that made her look human. Rina grabbed them and the arms returned to their secret space, controls sliding smoothly into place. They attached the disguises to their heads.

The Voot Runner entered the entourage surrounding the Massive unnoticed. They got right next to it and Rina entered a code into her computer. A hatch appeared on the outside of the Massive and the Voot Runner. A metal tube extended from Rina's small ship to the Tallests' bigger one, latching on so that they were connected. The hatches opened and Rina beckoned to them to follow.

They entered the hatch, walked through the tube, and, finally, entered the Massive, where they activated their disguises…

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this! I am happy to say that this chapter is MINE! WOO! Please review! I accept flames! I love to bitch at the flamers! Well, bye!


	8. Failure By Design

**_Important Note: _**This, lovely and constant reader, is a story I volunteered to finish for _The-Death-Bringer-of-Hell. _She allowed me to and here I am. Now, enjoy!

_**Persona Reversed**_

**_Chapter Eight: Failure By Design_**

Looking at them, Dib decided they didn't look too different from the way they were. Zim was a few inches taller and looked less like he belonged in a mental asylum and more like he was a true warrior. His eyes were also a bit redder.

Rina looked a lot different, but still basically had the same structure as a normal Irken. She was a lot shorter, for one. About the same as Zim. Instead of her multicolored eyes with a colored circle around each, she had violet eyes. Her clothes conformed to that of Zim's design, so she looked like what passed as a male Irken.

When Rina pulled out a mirror and passed it around, Dib was faintly surprised. He looked like a normal Irken, too! It was so weird; he just wasn't used to looking like that. The only real difference being that his eyes were a dark gold. It worried him slightly that he would stand out, but didn't voice it, as Rina and Zim didn't look bothered at all by his eyes.

"What now?" Zim asked, looking around. They were in a long, pink corridor.

"We get the antidote to the disease." Rina said.

"Yes, yes," Zim said, waving a hand to show he understood that. "But HOW do we do that?"

"Couldn't we take one of the Tallest hostage?" Dib suggested. "You know, make him give us the antidote in exchange for his life?"

Rina tapped her green chin in thought. "Hey, that's a good idea! You know, for an earth boy, you're much smarter than all the other humans." Dib didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult. "Why _are_ they so stupid, anyways?"

Dib shrugged, having wondered that his whole life and still not found out the answer. But he had a good guess. "Most of them just don't want to acknowledge the truth. That aliens exist and some houses are really haunted."

"They're that dim, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"EXCUSE ME!" Zim yelled, clearly impatient. "Can we DO something now?"

"Yes, okay," Rina said. She pulled a map out of her pocket. Unfolding it and placing it on the floor, they had a clear view of the layout of the Massive.

"Why are you carrying such an old fashioned map?" Zim asked, thinking that it should just be programmed into her computer.

"Easier accessibility." She muttered, studying it. "This is where we are-" she pointed to a spot on the Massive blueprints "-and we need to get here." She pointed to the middle of the ship, saying that that was where the Tallest slept. "If we can catch them while they're alone, we can probably do this quickly and smoothly, and no one besides the Tallest will have to know we're here."

"Why not just go in the control room shooting?" Zim asked, pulling out an Irken gun from seemingly no where. "We could probably take out a LOT like that!" He shot it at the wall, leaving a burn mark.

"NO!" Rina said, wrenching the gun from Zim's hand. "If we do that, everyone here will be after us. We stand a better chance if it's three against two instead of three against two hundred—plus!"

Zim nodded, understanding the simple logic.

"What if someone questions us?" Dib asked, a little worried. His mind was back on the golden color of his eyes.

"Don't worry about that. Right now, everybody should be in their quarters, sleeping. We won't run into a guard." Rina smirked.

"Why won't there be a guard?"

"Because the Irkens are powerful. The Tallest don't think anyone would really dare try and sneak in, so they don't bother with keeping a guard. It's a flaw, I admit." She sighed. "Sometimes I think they need their egos deflated. It's screwing with their common sense." Dib smiled and Zim nodded.

"Can we GO now?" Zim asked. "We need to hurry. They could wake up soon!"

"Let's go, then."

They trotted down the hall, toward the front of the Massive. Turning corners and passing by and through doors, it took them forever to reach it. Outside the control room, Rina instructed them to stop. She put her antennae against the door, listening intently.

"What are you DOING?" Zim asked, dragging her away from it.

"Let go!" she said, pulling her arm free from his grasp. "Look, if the control room is empty, we can use it as a shortcut to get to the Tallest's room. It would cut the time it takes nearly in half!"

"How much time does it take?" Dib asked, putting his antennae against the door. He had tried putting where his ear would be against the door, but found that he could hear nothing that way.

"About twenty minutes," She said, now sounding impatient herself. "But we might not have twenty minutes!"

"And why not?" Zim asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Because it's speeding up!" She said sadly, looking away.

"What are you talking about? What's speeding up?" Zim asked, suddenly sounding clueless. He looked at her questioningly.

"It's worse than I thought!" she howled, unmindful of who could overhear.

Dib was bewildered. "What's going on?" he said, looking between Zim and Rina in confusion.

"The disease—its affects are speeding up!" Rina grabbed Zim by the shoulders. "Take off the disguise, Zim!"

"I'm wearing a disguise?" he asked, looking down at himself. "Why am I wearing a disguise?"

"See?" she said, pushing Zim toward Dib until Zim was practically in the disguised earth boy's arms. She forgot about her command for Zim to take off his disguise. "It's affecting his memories now! If we don't hurry, he'll eventually be eaten away until all that's left will be his body!"

"Who are you?" Zim asked, looking up at Dib while pulling at his antennae. Dib blushed at their closeness, and suddenly realized he was taller than the confused Irken.

"I'm Dib…" he muttered, fighting the blush. Now was _not_ the time to comment on how cute Zim looked and kiss him.

"Oh, hi, I'm ZIM!" Despite his sudden lapse in memories, Zim still seemed to love shouting his own name out.

"I know." Dib muttered, feeling a little depressed that Zim couldn't remember him at all. They may not have been friends in the past, but Dib still liked the constant chasing, name calling, and odd life or death situation where Zim and he worked together. And he also liked Zim. He had even sometimes hoped that Zim enjoyed it, too. Enjoyed facing him: Dib. No way of knowing now, though—unless they retrieved the antidote from the two Irken leaders who had given him the disease in the first place.

"Come on," Rina said, pulling him from his musing and into the control room. It was completely empty. Zim was still in his arms, and Dib let go, his face blue with the Irken blush. Zim seemed not to mind. "This way!" She began dragging him to the other side of the room, not giving him a chance to sight see. Dib pulled Zim after them. Zim didn't seem to mind the dragging, either. But, as they left, he asked what was going on, having no idea of the danger he was in.

His entire genetic makeup—his design—was failing. Had always been failing. Had been failing before he even received the PAK at birth—through the line of Irkens who had owned it before him. He had been given a nearly defunct PAK, and the PAK was the biggest part of his design. Thus, his life had been in the hands of fate. Fate had had control of if and when the disease would be injected into Zim's system. If fate so chose, it could have kept the PAK from completely becoming useless in controlling Zim's actions while in his possession. He could have lived a normal Irken life to its fullest, died, and passed it on to the next Irken. But after the whole ordeal with Tallest Mizuki and Tallest Spork, and _Operation Impending Doom I_, it had been proven that the PAK was useless in detaining him. Therefore, the disease had been injected into him. And fate had made it its main priority to activate the thing just when Dib was discovering his love for the crazy Irken.

In a way, it was literally failure by design.

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this. Please review. I accept flames. I love to bitch at the flamers! Bye!


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